Slate's Hang Up and Listen

Available Episodes

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The Wide Receiver Performance Art Edition

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas to talk about the women’s and men’s U.S. Open finals. Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley also joins to discuss Antonio Brown’s move to the Patriots and the secrets of the Clemson football program’s success. U.S. Open (01:43): Why does Serena Williams keep losing major finals and how good is Bianca Andreescu? How did Daniil Medvedev come back against Rafael Nadal and how did Nadal hold on to win? Antonio Brown (21:15): Did Brown orchestrate his move to New England, and who’s the most to blame for his breakup with the Raiders? Clemson (41:46): Is the cohesion of Clemson’s title-winning football program impressive, creepy, or both? Afterballs (59:06): Stefan on ambulances on the field at high school football games and Josh on “Faintin’ Frank” Varrichione.&nbsp; Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

The Why Is She Hanging Around Here? Edition

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin talk about the first week of the U.S. Open. Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders also joins to preview the NFL season, and Sheba Rawson of the Timbers Army fan group discusses the dispute over political signage in Major League Soccer. U.S. Open (01:16): How Taylor Townsend and Kristie Ahn had the best week of their careers. NFL (22:19): What should we expect from Baker Mayfield’s Cleveland Browns and Kyler Murray’s Arizona Cardinals? Politics and MLS (38:51): Should MLS ban an anti-fascist symbol? Afterballs (55:43): Stefan on Carli Lloyd and kicking Josh on watching tennis from courtside.&nbsp; Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

The Why Luck Left Edition

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Jake Plummer and Nate Jackson to talk about Andrew Luck’s retirement; Billy Cundiff discusses the Chicago Bears’ bizarre kicker tryouts; and Slate’s Christina Cauterucci helps assess the state of the National Women’s Soccer League. Andrew Luck (01:53): What Luck’s sudden departure from the sport says about him and about football. Kicker tryouts (24:57): The right and wrong to audition kickers at an NFL training camp. NWSL (42:00): WhatSaturday’s huge crowd in Washington, D.C. says about the path forward for women’s pro soccer. Afterballs (59:56): Stefan on female placekickers and Josh on a pitcher who got struck by lightning.&nbsp; Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

The Classy Intangibles Edition

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham talk about Jay-Z’s new partnership with the NFL. They also discuss Joseph Tsai’s multibillion-dollar deal to buy the Brooklyn Nets. Finally, they select the words they’d like to ban from the sports lexicon. Jay-Z (2:10): Did the NFL botch its move to bring on the hip-hop icon as a corporate partner or is the league savvier than we think? Brooklyn Nets (20:30): How and why Tsai paid the biggest price ever for a U.S. sports franchise. And will franchise values keep going up? Banned words (32:00): Is “class” the worst sports word of them all? What about “talk about”? Afterballs (48:30): Stefan on football and the heat and Josh on an incident from tennis player Daniil Medvedev’s past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit